
Taken near the entrance of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park (which is now closed) on May 15, 2018, at 11:28 am.
MORTON GNEISS
Morton, Minnesota
Oldest Rock in the United States — 3.524 billion years old
MORTON GNEISS
Morton, Minnesota
Oldest Rock in the United States — 3.524 billion years old
Kilauea Volcano
10 Questions About the Earth—
and the Geology of North America.
Science — History — Biography
NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK AND ONTARIO
Niagara Escarpment
Part of a 700-mile-long Erosional Feature
The Niagara Escarpment is a cliff that runs almost continuously from Wisconsin and along the Door Peninsula, through Michigan and Ontario and to New York. It is responsible form hundreds of waterfalls, the most famous of which is Niagara Falls.

Niagara Escarpment is shown in red.
Originally, Niagara Falls cascaded over the Niagara Escarpment at Queenston Heights near Lewiston, New York, seven miles downstream from the current falls. At the current rate of erosion, it will take about fifty thousand years for the falls to retreat as far as Lake Erie, after which there will be no major falls along the Niagara River, only a series of steep rapids.

Niagara Falls consists of American Falls in New York and Horseshoe Falls in Ontario.

American Falls (Photo by Stan Shebs)

Horseshoe (or Canadian) Falls (Photo by PC Wiles)

The Erie Canal passes over the Niagara Escarpment at Lockport, New York, the city named for the famous Flight of Five, five locks, closely spaced, that raise and lower barges over the escarpment.